Monday, February 18, 2008

These Canadian genealogy websites are useful to me every day. Each is tried and true, although one or two may sometimes be trying. Notice that almost all are free! Let’s do our best to keep it that way.

- CANADIAN GENEALOGY CENTRE (within Library and Archives Canada). Specialized access to genealogical indexes, images and resources, including digitized census and passenger lists, land records, etc., and guides to searching for both topics and places. (Note* not all databases are included in the Ancestors Search): www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html

Note** Now you can comment on LAC’s services. Do you love what’s available on-line? Is there another set of records you think should be digitized? (For a list of what’s in the works right now or planned as future digital resources, see below.)

Go to the Public Consultations page. Follow the comments link to the on-line form. If you want to hear back, BE SURE to include your e-mail address or other contact info.

GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH LIBRARY (GRL). An unsung Canadian resource. When I found one of my Whites using this website, I was impressed for life. Indexes to directories, census, etc. “16 million ancestors”. The Internet version of the books, the “Western Canadians”, “Central, Atlantic and French...Canadians”, compiled by Noel Montgomery Elliot. Free index searches, $ subscription fee for details: http://www.grl.com/

AUTOMATED GENEALOGY. Name and place indexes and links to images at LAC - 1851/52, 1901, 1911 Canadian indexes; also to the 1851 New Brunswick census and to the 1906 Prairie census: http://www.automatedgenealogy.com/

FAMILYSEARCH. 1881 Canadian census index and Canadian national and provincial research guides. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: http://www.familysearch.org/

ANCESTRY.COM. Canadian census indexes with links to record images at LAC - 1851/52, 1901, 1911, also immigration and passenger list indexes, 20th century directories, Canadian soldiers of World War I, indexes of Loyalist claimants and 1812 soldiers, etc. $ subscriptions or use Ancestry.com’s Library Edition at a participating library: http://www.ancestry.com/

Note* In the Lower Mainland of B.C., go to Cloverdale Library in Surrey, to any Burnaby, West Vancouver or Vancouver Library for free Ancestry.com access. Some Ancestry.com indexes available at Family History Centres too. See FamilySearch above for locations. In the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, there are Centres in Burnaby, Surrey and Abbotsford.

NANAIMO FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY, PASSENGER LIST INDEXING PROJECT. The society is name indexing Canadian Passenger Lists for all ports from 1900 - 1924. Quebec ports complete for 29 May 1907 to 8 Jul 1907 and 6 Sep 1907 to 13 Oct 1910: http://members.shaw.ca/nanaimo.fhs

CANADA GENWEB PROJECT. Wide array of Canadian and provincial/territorial resources and projects, for instance, the CanadaGenWeb Family Bible transcription project and the Immigrants to Canada list: www.rootsweb.com/~canwgw

Update: I've been meaning to add this website in - yes, you will find it in the links on Canada GenWeb but this site has amazing info - I thought I was remiss in cutting it from my Canada list.

Marj's Place (Marj Kohli). See especially the sections on Child Migrants and Home Children (and see below) and also on 19th Century Immigration: http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/~marjOh, dear, now I'm up to 17, am I?

OLIVE TREE GENEALOGY, Lorine McGinnis Schultz. Over 1900 pages of free information, guides and indexes –many of these are for Canada.Read the index page and the FAQ first. www.olivetreegenealogy.com/index.shtml

ROOTSWEB, THE big free site for mailing lists and genealogy resources. Canada wide message boards and mailing lists for queries include CAN-WW1-L for Canadian World War I military research, CAN-CENSUS-L, CANADA-ROOTS-L, AUSTRIAN-CANADIAN-L, Irish-Canadian-L: http://www.rootsweb.com/

Did you know that from 1869 to 1948, thousands and thousands of children were sent to live and usually, work, in Canada from Britain?There is a move afoot to name 2009 the ‘Year of the Home Child’ in Canada. Please join by sending a support letter to both your Canadian Member of Parliament and the Prime Minister.

Will post my top 10 British Columbia genealogy websites soon. (I’m not including newspapers ’cause that would be a whole page by itself. Another time.)